


Like I’m Dreaming While I’m Wide Awake

by aurons_fan



Series: The Misadventures of Rooming with Friends [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, M/M, Pre-Slash, Slow Build, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 15:37:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3073205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurons_fan/pseuds/aurons_fan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riku visits Sora and Roxas’s hometown for Thanksgiving and realizes that sleeping on the floor sucks.</p><p>Or:</p><p>Riku went back to Sora’s room to flop onto the ground, but Sora grabbed him before he could even make it to the make-shift bed. Riku turned and Sora scooted over, patting the space on the bed next to him.</p><p>“The floor isn’t comfy,” Sora said, mainly to his pillows. “Just crash here.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like I’m Dreaming While I’m Wide Awake

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who has never read this series before, go ahead and enjoy!
> 
> If you have read it before, I apologize for throwing a random flashback in. I got lazy and kept writing pieces that happened after this one and when I looked back, I realized that there were small bits that probably should have been mentioned earlier. So, I finally wrote the Thanksgiving story! So, just to reiterate, this is after them swapping rooms, but before the fire alarm, and thanks to AO3 being awesome, I have reordered the series as such.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Title is from, “Roll With Me,” by Corbin Bleu. Jeez, by the end of this, you guys are going to know just how awful my music tastes are…

Sora’s mom was absolutely everything and nothing Riku had imagined her to be. If someone had taken Sora and Roxas and shoved them into a blender, they would have a wonderful short woman, who demanded that Riku call her “Amaya” before he could even start to say anything more formal. She could both be super friendly, like how she practically lifted Riku off the ground in a hug when he offered her a handshake, and super… not, like with the look she shot towards Roxas when he scoffed.

Even Kairi had shivered.

Either way, Amaya was lovely and had totally been willing to let a poor college freshman, roommate to one of her wonderful sons, tag along for their Thanksgiving festivities. Before they all left the dorms, with Amaya carrying Riku’s bag (even though he kept insisting that it was alright, and that she could hand it back anytime), she had clearly recognized Tidus from the hug she had given him, and offered him a ride home too.

"Mom," Roxas said with a look. "Unless we tie someone to the roof, there is no room left in the car."

Tidus shrugged.

“I'll be fine. Dad has a new car and he wants to drive me,” he said, scowling only a little. “He should be here soon. He shouldn’t have a game today. I think.”

Amaya had pinched the scowl out of his cheeks and led the band of freshman out to her car. Before any of them could object, Roxas slithered his way into the front seat, and rolled down the window to glower at them.

“Thank you so much for offering to sit in the middle seat,” Roxas said with a smirk.

Sora rolled his eyes and Kairi shrugged with a look that said she’d seen this all before, and Riku shrugged, tucking his hands in his pockets.

“It’s fine. It’s already enough that you guys opened your house to me for Thanksgiving,” he said, glancing over to Amaya. “Thanks again.”

She beamed at him, dropped his bag (thank _god_ his laptop was in his backpack securely on his back) and hugged him again. “You’re seriously just too sweet,” she said with a grin. “How ever did you guys meet?”

Roxas coughed and shrunk in his seat. Kairi and Riku exchanged looks and Sora suddenly started inspecting for cracks in the ground. His mom laughed.

“Oh don’t worry,” she said, moving away and winking. “I already know.”

Roxas, who was already halfway down his seat, practically slid onto the floor.

\--

The ride was long. Riku couldn’t even lie and say it was all that enjoyable. Amaya had to wait until Kairi’s afternoon class finished before picking them up late Tuesday night, and by then they were all exhausted. Roxas had eventually moved his way back up his seat to glare at them from the front seat for the first hour, but after a while he had fallen asleep. Sora went from talking non-stop to Riku about how they were going to explore the island, before conking out against him. Kairi had even tried to listen in while reading a book, but she too fell asleep against Riku.

Riku had stupidly left his headphones in his duffle bag so it was just him and the hum of the car. And Amaya, but jeez, what did one talk about to a friend’s mom he’d just met.

“So Riku,” she said, glancing at him in the review mirror. He looked up, made eye contact, and stealthily looked away. “How is it, dealing with my foolish children?”

He grinned and tried to mentally run through everything he definitely should not mention to Amaya, for fear Sora would gut him as retaliation. “It’s nice. Easier to study now than my old room, that’s for sure.”

“Ah,” she said, turning back to the road with a smile. “Roxas’s boyfriend, yes?”

Riku choked on air.

She laughed, tapping her hand on the steering wheel. “Sora likes to talk. And if he’s let a few things slip, that’s no one’s fault but his.”

Riku let out an awkward chuckle and attempted to rub a hand through his hair, but realized his arms were pinned to his sides by Sora and Kairi. “It’s… it’s really nice. Definitely nice to have a built-in study buddy for one of my exams,” he admitted with a slight shrug. “And it’s weird that you guys live where I used to but hey, it’s a small world.”

She hummed. “I’m sure the island hasn’t changed that much since you’ve left.”

He nodded in agreement, before realizing that she couldn’t see him, and made a noncommittal hum. To be quite honest, he had a lot of questions, mainly about Roxas and his extreme dislike for Riku, but he wasn’t even that comfortable asking Sora about that, much less his mom.

As the car fell silent, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

“Thank you.”

Riku’s eyes opened and he glanced over to Kairi and Sora, both of whom were still asleep, before looking up front to Amaya, who was smiling.

“For… what?” he asked.

She was quiet for a long moment, before glancing back at him in the mirror. “Having dinner with us! There’s nothing worse than not being with friends and family for holidays, right?”

He caught himself smiling back. “Yeah.”

\--

What felt like eons later (but was probably only like thirty minutes), the car slowed and someone was shaking the three of them awake. Riku hadn’t even realized he’d nodded off until Amaya tapped Kairi in the shoulder. Kairi yawned and nodded, moving to climb out of the car.

Riku shook Sora who sleepily woke up, realized Kairi was gone, and all but bolted out of the car. Rolling his eyes, Riku climbed out as well to give Kairi a goodbye hug before glancing up to the house.

Well, calling it a house was being unfair. It was probably best described as a mansion. Or a castle.

“Sora!” Kairi laughed, giving him a hug. “I’m going to see you tomorrow.” Riku grinned, hands stuffed in his pockets, and Kairi rolled her eyes and beckoned him forward. “Don’t be awkward, you goof.”

He moved forward and gave her a squeeze. “Come on Sora,” he said, gently prying him off of Kairi. Sora looked more like he was half falling asleep on her than he was hugging her. “Bed time.”

After dumping Sora in the car, Riku climbed in and waved at Kairi as a man who looked a lot like a butler came to grab her bags. As they drove through gates Riku hadn’t noticed before, he turned to Sora.

“So… was that a mansion Kairi lives in?” he asked but narrowed his eyes to see Sora asleep again.

“Kairi’s the daughter of the mayor,” Amaya chimed in helpfully. “And that was the mayor’s house.”

“ _House_ ,” Roxas muttered, using appropriate finger quotes.

Amaya whapped him gently upside the head and he grumbled, shoving his way down into the seat again.

A few minutes later, they pulled into a driveway of a house that wasn’t as nearly as massive as Kairi’s, and Riku let out a sigh he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Before he could shake Sora awake, Roxas had opened the backseat and grabbed Sora’s shoulders.

“Come on,” he grumbled, tugging Sora out of the car.

Riku blinked, but climbed out as well.

He managed to grab their bags along with Amaya as Roxas helped a sleepy Sora into the house. “I’m so sorry we don’t have enough beds,” Amaya said with a frown. “I mean, I should probably kick Roxas out of his bed after what he did to you both-”

“ _Mom_ , oh my god,” Roxas groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Sora, did you have to tell mom _everything_?”

Sora clearly was awake enough to grin up over to Roxas. “Oops,” he said, with an unapologetic look on his face.

“But we have a bedroll that should work fine, along with some sleeping bags and blankets that have been set up in Sora’s room,” she continued, smiling to Riku. “And if that’s not enough, we have a couch you’re more than welcome to take over.”

Riku nodded. “Again, thank you so much for having me.”

Amaya pinched his cheeks _again_ and handed Roxas his bags. Roxas grumbled and let go of Sora, who stumbled and all but fell onto Riku.

“Bed?” Riku said, as Sora attempted to right himself.

Sora looked like he was about to reply, but his yawn cut him off before he could say anything. Riku took that as a cue and followed Roxas up the stairs.

\--

Maybe Riku should have taken the couch after all. It wasn’t so much that the bedroll or the blankets weren’t comfortable, but after sleeping in a vaguely comfortable bed for months in a dorm, to try to sleep on something even less comfortable was apparently just not going to happen.

Riku groaned and tossed and turned all night, before giving up and staring at the ceiling. Maybe if he counted the cracks in the ceiling here, like he did at school, he could actually fall asleep.

When he realized there _were_ no cracks, he grumbled and got up, heading to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. Maybe that would help.

When that didn’t help (besides get his face wet. Brilliant Riku. Brilliant), he went back to Sora’s room to flop onto the ground, but Sora grabbed him before he could even make it to the make-shift bed. Riku turned and Sora scooted over, patting the space on the bed next to him.

“The floor isn’t comfy,” Sora said, mainly to his pillows. “Just crash here. I don’t care.”

“Are you sure?” Riku said, but he was already climbing onto the bed. He made a great effort to stay on top of the covers and grabbed one of the blankets from floor so he could stay warm.

Sora mumbled something and rolled over, falling back asleep. Riku shrugged and tugged the blanket up, and closed his eyes.

\--

“Sora! Riku! Get up! Kairi says she’s on her way over!”

Riku shoved his face into the pillow and groaned, but refused to move. When someone started knocking rhythmically on the door, Riku grumbled and snuggled more into his pillow.

When his pillow groaned, Riku jumped about a foot in the air.

Somehow, throughout the night, he’d managed to climb his way under the covers and managed to use Sora as a body pillow. Riku froze and Sora yawned, turning up and looking over at him.

“Oh. Hello,” he said, and yawned in Riku’s face.

Riku blinked. The person knocking on the door, whose voice sounded a lot like Roxas’, called, “Get _up_ , mom says she’s coming upstairs if you don’t.”

“I’m up,” Sora grumbled, throwing his pillow at the door. The knocking ended and Sora flopped back onto the bed. “Jeez.”

He glanced over to Riku, who still had this slightly shocked look on his face and rolled his eyes. “Dude, sleeping on the floor sucks. Besides, we already room together.” He yawned, stretching his arms up. “It’s not like sharing a bed is really that different.”

Sora climbed out of bed and headed towards his closet. Riku just blinked again.

\--

“And this,” Sora proclaimed loudly to a group of unimpressed teenagers, “is the actual secret place.” He gestured at the small cave behind him.

Riku yawned. Sora frowned.

“Sora,” Kairi said, dropping her head into her hands. “When you said we were going to show Riku around the island, this is the main reason why, wasn’t it?”

Sora frown deepen, and he crossed his arms. “I just thought it would be nice gesture, okay.”

Tidus groaned and patted Riku on the back. “Either way, this is the island we all played on when we were kids. And those idiots,” he said, pointing down the beach to where two people were approaching them. “Are the ones we went to high school with.”

“I can tell how much you care about them,” Riku said dryly, as Tidus waved.

The short brunette girl all but launched herself at Riku, and he shook off the urge to jump back. On the other hand, he had to force himself not stare at boy with the red hair that seemed to defy gravity. Maybe it was hair gel.

Though looking at Sora and Roxas’ hair, maybe it was something in the island water.

“I’m Selphie,” the girl said, her arms around Riku’s waist. She ignored his attempts to tug her off. “And that’s Wakka. We go to school on Destiny Islands even though you guys left us.” She frowned over to Sora, Kairi, and Tidus, all of whom gave varying degrees of shrugs. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“It’s nice to meet the poor sap who got dragged back home to meet us, ya?” Wakka said, offering a hand to Riku, who had to reach over Selphie to shake it. “Though from the horror stories, I thought we’d meet one other guy?”

He glanced over to Roxas, who had been silently standing behind all of them, just… watching. Eerily watching. However, Roxas did not offer up any explanation, nor did he say any greetings.

Wakka turned back to Tidus who shrugged. “I wouldn’t ask,” Tidus offered. “I mean, I have no idea, but if you want to keep your hair standing up tall, I wouldn’t ask.”

Wakka paled slightly, but the talk quickly turned to blitzball. Kairi walked over and pried Selphie off of Riku, and gently tugged her to the other side of him. “So,” Selphie said, as Riku rubbed the feeling back into his arms. “Are you liking the island so far?”

“I mean, I grew up here, so I-” he started, before Selphie pulled out of Kairi’s grip and grabbed Riku’s hair. “…Ow.”

“I _knew_ you looked familiar!” she exclaimed, grinning up to him.

“Could you not,” he said.

Before Kairi could save him again, Sora moved up and poked Selphie in the side, grinning. “Come on, don’t maim my friend before the holiday,” he said, before whispering. “Although, if he does disappear, I get straight A’s for the semester so… maybe…”

Kairi whapped him upside the head. “That is a rumor. Riku, I’m sorry your roommate is attempting to murder you.”

“I should be used to it,” he said, as Selphie, apparently bored with him, moved over to Roxas, who was still just watching them from his resting place against a palm tree. “Is Roxas usually this quiet at home?”

Sora and Kairi glanced over. “No,” Kairi admitted with a frown. “I mean, he’s always quiet, but he has never been ... this standoffish.”

Sora shrugged, and grabbed Riku’s arm. “Come on, I wanna show you my favorite part,” he said, dragging him away from the group.

“I thought the secret place was your favorite,” Riku said, glancing back over to Roxas. They locked eyes for a moment and Riku felt a chill go down his spine.

Either way, he turned, keeping pace with Sora.

“No,” Sora corrected, oblivious to the stare-off that had just occurred. “You just needed to know how wrong you were.”

He led Riku into a small wooden cabin like structure, walking up the stairs and easily striding across the wooden bridge that connected this small island to another smaller island. Riku glanced over the edge and while it wasn’t deep, it certainly didn’t look like a fun height to fall from, and hurried to follow Sora.

“This,” Sora said, climbing onto a tree that leaned over enough to make it a comfortable seat. “Is my favorite spot.”

“This tiny little island,” Riku said, leaning against the trunk. “Why?”

Sora shrugged and kicked his feet out. “I dunno. I can just look at the ocean and not see anything but water for as far as I can see. It’s… peaceful.”

Riku nodded in agreement, and for a moment they just watched the ocean waves gently drift along.

Something yellow caught his eye, and he glanced back at the tree, noting the strange star shaped fruit. “Is this what I think it is?” he asked, with a laugh. “My dad used to tell me about the legend of the paopu fruit but I’d never actually seen one.”

Sora grinned and he made to grab one.

“Sora, Riku!”

They both turned and Kairi ran across the bridge with a grin. “So I _may_ have mentioned that we haven’t had good seafood in a while and Wakka _may_ have flipped so we have to take Riku down to the market.” She grinned. “Oh, and we don’t actually have a choice in the matter.”

Riku glanced over and saw Wakka giving him an intense stare from where he stood on the beach. He laughed and pushed his way off the tree. “Alright. Maybe we can stop by the place with the clams?” he said, heading back to Kairi on the bridge. She grinned and called back down to Wakka, and his stare became less intense.

Riku noticed Sora wasn’t behind him and he turned, noting Sora still sitting on the paopu tree.

“You coming?” he said.

Sora took a moment before turning, but when he finally did, he grinned and hopped off the tree. “Yep!”

Before Riku could say anything, Sora had moved past him to Kairi, linked arms and they made their way across the bridge.

\--

“Sora,” Riku said, flopping onto Sora’s bed as soon as they made it upstairs later that evening. “Why did I eat all of the food?”

Sora rolled his eyes, and with a laugh, gently hit Riku’s feet off his covers. Riku grumbled but kicked off his sneakers.

“Why didn’t you stop me from eating all of the food, Sora?” Riku groaned again. “I thought you were friends.”

Sora sat on the other side of the bed and patted Riku’s shoulder. “Maybe I’m fattening you up to give you to a witch so I can get that 4.0.” He shrugged. “It’s important to get good grades in the first semester. Gotta keep my gpa up.”

Riku let out a noised that sounded suspiciously like a whine and rolled onto his stomach. Oof, bad move. He rolled onto his side and winced. “I thought we were friends.”

“Roommates,” Sora said, grinning down to him. “And at least I don’t sexile you.”

Riku grumbled but rolled off the bed, crouching down to grab his toothbrush. He paused for a moment, eyes glancing over to the blankets and sleeping bag beside him and then back at Sora’s bed. “Do you mind if I crash on your bed again?” Riku asked, running a hand through his hair. “I mean-”

Sora waved without looking and headed towards the bathroom.

\--

The next morning, Roxas didn’t even bother to knock on the door. Instead, it sounded like he kicked Sora’s bedroom door open with a resounding crack and a loud, “Happy Thanksgiving!”

Riku groaned and covered his face with his hands in a futile attempt to block out the light. Sora muttered something that sounded like a curse.

Roxas paid no mind and continued talking. “Mom says you have to help her with the-” he stopped suddenly.

“Roxas, seriously?” Sora said, as Riku rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “It’s like four.”

“It’s like six,” Roxas replied, his voice suddenly ten degrees colder than it had been moments ago. “And the hell are you two doing? I thought Riku had his own bed.”

Riku peeked one eye open to see that yep, they were actually spooning, (props to him for being the bigger spoon), and that yes, Roxas _did_ look the most murderous Riku had ever seen. Riku thought it might be for the best to close his eyes and attempt to go back to sleep.

Sora grumbled. “Whatever, the floor sucks. What did mom want me to do?” He yawned and pulled himself away from Riku and stumbled out of bed. “Never mind, I’ll go check,” he said, and headed out of his room, leaving Riku alone with Roxas.

Well. With the way Roxas was eyeing Riku, maybe Sora was going to get that 4.0 after all.

Riku could feel rather than hear Roxas as he approached the bed, and Riku certainly felt the jab on his shoulder that caused his eyes to snap open. “What the hell is your game?” Roxas hissed. “What are you doing with my brother?”

Riku moved to sit up, although once he saw Roxas’s glare, he was tempted to inch back down. For as aggravated as Riku had seen Roxas, he’d never looked this close to actually hurting Riku before.

Either way, he sat up and stared him right in the eyes. Oof, it was like staring down a tiger. A very, angry malicious tiger. With spiky blond hair. “I couldn’t get comfortable on the floor,” he said slowly, ignoring the way Roxas’s eyes flashed. “And Sora offered to share.”

Roxas didn’t move from his position of way too close to Riku, and Riku certainly wasn’t about to back down. When Amaya peeked her head into the room and asked for help with the green beans, Riku may have offered before actually hearing what she said.

\--

Sora and Roxas’s dad was actually nothing like Riku had expected. Considering Riku had, every once in a while, heard Sora talking to his mom on the phone, he had nothing to base his opinion about his dad.

Their dad, or Haru as he asked Riku to call him, was quiet, sarcastic, and apparently an amazing cook. Which was great, because in the time it took them all to work on Thanksgiving dinner, Amaya had managed to set fire to a bowl of Cheerios.

Riku wasn’t quite sure how that had even happened.

Either way, Riku was glad that at least one other member of the Sora-and-Roxas household had liked him because any points he may have had with Roxas had fallen straight into a fiery pit. If Roxas had just been glaring at him and huffing and stomping around as Riku had learned to expect from dealing with him at school, it would be fine. But it was the long, angry stares that Riku realized Roxas was giving him, that actually made him concerned that he was going to wake up with a knife in his back and Roxas holding the handle.

He shivered and focused his energy on mashing the potatoes.

Hours later, with the turkey cooked to perfection and the side dishes done and laid out beautifully (and only other thing, a small bag of bread, set alight), dinner was served. Roxas had managed to get the set across from Riku, and Riku attempted to quietly edge his chair back from the table.

Sora just looked annoyed and was pointedly not looking at his brother.

Riku had no desire to get into this battle, even if he was the one it revolved around, and chewed on a turkey leg.

“Riku,” Haru said, once most of the meal was almost finished. “So how did you get to know Sora and Roxas?”

Amaya laughed. “I thought I told you! They swapped rooms with…” She paused, and glanced over to Riku. “You swapped with Roxas, right? But Roxas, honey, what’s the boy’s name you now live with? Hayner?”

“Yep,” Roxas said, eyes still focused on Riku. “I always thought it was a bad idea to move in with someone you might be dating. You know.”

Riku coughed and continued chewing his food.

Sora rolled his eyes and put down his fork. “Seriously, Roxas? Stop being such a jerk. You know you could have just invited Axel.”

A silence descended upon the table. Riku continued chewing his food as though it was the only thing that could save him.

Roxas finally, _finally_ , pried his eyes off of Riku and glared at Sora, who just looked bored at the whole thing. Considering this was Sora, even this was alarming, and Riku was a little afraid to see what angry Sora looked like. “It’s not like that and you know it,” Roxas hissed, leaning across the table.

“Dishes!” Riku exclaimed suddenly, jumping up from the table. “I will help clear the dishes right now.”

Amaya nodded and moved into the kitchen, not even bothering to grab anything. Their dad, on the other hand, looked at Sora and Roxas with a stern expression. Riku slipped into the kitchen before he heard anything.

“Look, this is probably all my fault,” Riku blurted, as Amaya moved to preheat the oven. “Roxas has every right to be annoyed because we _kinda_ moved him without his knowledge so like. Don’t blame him.”

She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. “Truthfully,” she said with a frown. “We probably shouldn’t have let the two of them move in together but they’ve always been thick as thieves.” She sighed. “It’s nice that they’re branching out more.”

While Riku was all for having an in-depth discussion about Roxas’s and possibly Sora’s life stories, this was edging right into weird territory. Plus, it didn’t sound like they were shouting (or making any noise at all), so Riku gestured back to the dining room. “I’m… going to check on those plates…” he said.

He quickly made his way back into the room, about to grab his plate off the table before noticing one person missing. “Where’s Sora?” he said, glancing over to Roxas. Haru was shaking his head and Roxas’s glare had tripled tenfold. “Seriously, what happened to Sora? Is he upstairs?”

Instead of doing anything useful, Roxas had shrugged.

Riku turned and raced up the stairs to his duffle bag, grabbing his phone from his jacket pocket and quickly dialing Sora. When he realized that the phone was still in the room, he gritted his teeth and called up Kairi.

“Hello!” She said cheerfully. “Happy Thanksgi-”

“Kairi? Hi, would you know where Sora is?” He could practically hear her blinking in confusion over the phone and he gritted his teeth. “Sora and Roxas got into an… argument? A fight? I have no idea. And Sora isn’t here and his phone _is_ and I don’t know where to find him, and honestly, I’m not really looking forward to having a 4.0 gpa if my friend is gone!”

“Whoa, hang on. Sora did what?” Kairi said, and Riku resisted the urge to groan. Sora was probably going to be alright (Destiny Islands seemed like a quiet, serene little place), but it was the middle of the night and dammit, Sora was his friend. It would be incredibly bad manners to go visit a friend over break and lose them in their own town.

Suddenly, Riku had a thought of the two of them on the smaller island, looking ta the sea, and he jumped up, grabbing his coat.

“Kairi? How do I get one of those boats to get to that island?”

As she gave him confused but quick instructions, he raced out the door and down the street. As he ran, he realized he probably should have said something to Sora’s parents. Or even to Roxas.

When he finally arrived at the dock to see that it was closed, he gritted his teeth and tugged at his hair nervously, pulling his phone out to call Kairi again. When the ringtone sounded too close for comfort, he turned and saw her running up behind up.

“Of course you’d forget that it’s a holiday,” she said, grabbing his arm and leading them both over to a small boat tied up on the dock. “And that you can’t rent boats on holidays.”

He coughed awkward and stepped into the boat, nodding thanks and moving to push away from the dock. “Thanks. I’ll take it from here,” he said, looking around for the oars.

She snorted, and held up one oar, handing it to him, before climbing in herself. “You do realize Sora’s one of my best friends, right?” She said, using the oar to push them off the dock. “I’m not going to wait around useless and hope you bring him back. Besides. You probably have no idea how to get there.”

Riku blinked. Kairi did have a point.

\--

A little while later, Kairi steered the boat towards the dock attached to the smaller island. Another boat was already docked, and Riku nodded to himself before moving to climb out of the boat. Kairi grabbed Riku’s arm before he leapt out. “Before you play knight in shining armor, can you help dock this?” she said.

“Uh,” he said, glancing down at it. “Do I just wrap the rope around a post or something?” he said, picking the rope up awkwardly.

She rolled her eyes, climbed out of the boat, and snatched the rope out of his hands. “Go,” she said, kneeling to tie the boat to the dock.

When he didn’t move, she finished tying and glanced over to him.

“You have no idea how to get there, do you?” she said with a laugh.

Riku frowned. “Well, it wasn’t dark last time we were here. It’s not funny,” he scowled when she shook her hand.

Kairi lead the way, ignoring Riku’s attempts to practically race ahead of her. “We all used to spend a lot of time on this island,” she said, pushing open the wooden cabin door. “I just didn’t know he was on that island so much.”

“He said he liked to think there?” Riku said, glancing at the wooden bridge to the smaller island warily. Kairi rolled her eyes, grabbed his arm, and they quickly moved over the bridge.

Sora was sitting on the bent paopu tree, staring out to the ocean. “Sora!” Riku called, and Sora didn’t react. Kairi moved to stand behind the tree, next to where Sora sat, and Riku walked in front.

“You know,” Sora said finally, still staring out at the ocean. “Maybe I just got annoyed hearing about it. I mean, every time we talk he mentions that I’ve betrayed him and argh.” He tugged at his hair. “It’s just so aggravating! Like, obviously Riku’s not to going to stab me in my sleep, but Roxas keeps _acting_ like he is and getting so pissy when anyone mentions Axel but auuuuuugh.”

Even if this entire thing kind of had to do with Riku, it didn’t really feel right to chime in, so he kept his mouth shut. Kairi, on the other hand, hopped onto the tree trunk and put an arm around Sora’s shoulders. “You know he’s just looking out for you?” she said softly.

Sora scowled, but didn’t move.

After a moment of them just sitting there, Riku heaved a sigh. “I obviously don’t know what history you and your brother have but… it’s obvious he looks out for you. Would it make him feel better if I… moved out?”

As he spoke, he realized that he really had no desire to move out. Even if Sora agreed. He’d finally found a group of friends that he liked spending time with, even if half of them were completely idiots, and even if Roxas suddenly agreed to be his best friend, he didn’t want that to happen.

Besides, he didn’t really want Roxas as a best friend. That probably entailed like, murder and death.

Sora’s scowl deepened. “No, of course not! I don’t want you to move out. We’re friends and he needs to deal with that.”

They sat like that for a while, just watching the waves. Kairi’s arm was tight around Sora’s shoulder, and Riku’s legs were staring to fall asleep from how he was standing but he felt like if he moved, he would ruin the atmosphere, so he didn’t.

After a while, Kairi pulled her phone out of her pocket and groaned. “Roxas has called me at least ten times,” she said, holding it out for Sora to see. “Do you want me to call him back?”

Sora grunted noncommittally.

Kairi shook her head and hopped off the tree. “I’d love to stay out longer, but I really do need to head home.” She shot Riku an apologetic look. “I didn’t really tell my parents much besides, ‘Riku and Sora need me be right back,’ and I don’t think they’ll take too kindly at that as an explanation.” She made to walk off, before pausing, and turned back to them. “Riku, you coming back with me?”

Riku glanced up to Sora, who was had turned back to look at the ocean. “I think I’ll stay a little longer.”

She nodded, gave them both a hug, and headed out across the bridge. They watched her untie her boat and paddle away. After another long moment (Riku’s legs were seriously about to just give up on him), Sora let out a loud sigh.

“Sorry. Sorry! I really didn’t think Roxas would act like that and he’s ruined Thanksgiving. Or…” Sora frowned. “I ruined Thanksgiving. Great.”

Riku turned to him, and, after a moment, patted him on the shoulder. That was probably the most awkward thing he’d done in the past few days, but he wasn’t going to examine it farther.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough, because Sora hopped off the tree and practically tackled Riku in a hug. Riku’s legs did finally give out and they both ended on the sand.

“Sorry,” Riku said, leaning back on his hands. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

Sora just kept his head against Riku’s shoulder, hands fisted in his shirt, and Riku resisted the urge to awkwardly pat him on the back again. Sora let out a frustrated groan. “Roxas is _so_ aggravating at times but he’s my brother.” He groaned again, letting go of Riku’s shirt and covering his face with his hands. “He can’t even see how stupid he is.”

“You did tell him right?” Riku said, trying to offer something besides a shoulder to rest upon. Or well, awkwardly lean on. “I mean, that there’s nothing going on between us? That should at least calm him down right?”

There was a pause. It was quite a long pause, and Riku could hear his heart thumping in his chest.

“Sora…? You _did_ say something, right?”

Sora grumbled some unkind words under his breath, before leaning back on his knees and staring at Riku. “Yeah, I did. But he thinks that you’ll just be like Axel and like, corrupt me or something.”

Riku let out a laugh and willed his heart rate to calm down. “That’s a little hypocritical of him.”

Sora sighed and plopped onto the ground next to Riku, turning to watch the tide come in. Riku was half wondering why the hell his heart was racing so much when his phone started to ring.

Riku blinked and pulled out his phone, not recognizing the number. Tonight had been a weird night, so he picked it up and could immediately hear Roxas yelling at him.

Instead of enduring whatever vitriolic rampage Roxas had in store, Riku wordlessly handed the phone over to Sora. Sora, hearing Roxas’s voice, let out a sigh, before taking the phone and walking over to the other side of the small island. Riku could hear Sora arguing but he couldn’t hear Roxas’s voice so at least Sora must have said something to calm Roxas down. Whatever it was, Riku thought as he turned to face the ocean, hopefully Sora remembered it for next time.

He really had no idea what captivated him about this spot, but it must have been the same reason what drew Sora to it. They were too far from the mainland to actually see it, and facing away from the play island gave the impression that they were already a little farther out at sea. It certainly had a calming effect. When they got back to school, he’d miss being able to just sit here and watch the waves roll in.

And, some small of him realized, he’d miss being able to watch it with Sora.

As Sora walked back, Riku pushed that thought out of his mind and glanced back at him. “Well?” Riku said, reaching out for his phone. “Verdict?”

“I’m… kind of in a lot of trouble,” he said, rubbing a hand through his hair. “I mean, not with Roxas, but my parents are kind of mad. Mainly for leaving my phone and running off and not telling anyone where I was going _and_ for dragging you along with me.”

Riku stood, dusting sand off his pants. “I’ll vouch for you,” he said, shrugging. “I’ll say I _really_ wanted to see this island again.” Well, he kind of did.

They headed down to the docks and Riku was about to climb into Sora’s boat when Sora grabbed his hand. Riku turned and Sora fidgeted.

“Look, I…” he said, and dropped Riku’s hand. “Thanks for coming after me. I love that we’re friends and Roxas keeps making this super weird but I don’t want you to think I’m weird because my brother is so…” Sora waved his hand in what could probably describe ‘weird’ but could also describe ‘would stab you with a knife and not even feel the tiniest bit sorry about it.’

Riku shrugged again. “I already think you’re weird as hell,” he admitted, and Sora gave him a look. “You threaten to murder me if I wake you up a second before 8am, and you sing when you brush your teeth. But I don’t think Roxas makes you weird. He just... cares about you. A lot.”

Sora grinned and hugged him again, before climbing into his boat. Riku smiled, and followed after him.

\--

Roxas was siting at the table as Riku and Sora walked into the front door, with an embarrassed flush across his face. He looked like he’d rather do anything other than what he was about to do, but he turned to Riku and nodded. “Kairi gave me your number,” he mumbled, refusing to make eye contact. Riku realized that that was probably him saying thank you, and shoved his hands in his pockets, giving a shrug.

Before Roxas could say anything else, Sora launched over at him and smothered him in a hug. “Aww you love me,” Sora grinned, as Roxas grumbled and tried to escape. “Don’t even deny it. I _heard_ you say it on the phone.”

Amaya walked out of the kitchen and gave them all a look. Sora dropped Roxas like a hot potato and went over to his mom, head lowered. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I just…”

She rolled her eyes and pulled him in for a hug. “We _are_ talking about this later,” she said forcefully. Sora winced. “But for now, the pie is in the oven. We didn’t want to leave you guys with nothing.”

Sora grinned and he followed his mom into the kitchen. Riku attempted to stealthily slip in as well but the look Roxas gives him stops him.

It’s nothing like the hate filled looks Roxas gave him before. Just annoyed.

“I’m still watching you,” Roxas said, crossing his arms. “No funny business. You hear?”

Riku rolled his eyes, turning to face him. “Roxas. I promise. Nothing is going on. We’re not going to traumatize you like you and Axel have.”

Roxas grumbled but a light blush crossed his cheeks. “Yeah well, I’m keeping an eye on you,” he said, before moving past Riku into the kitchen.

After pie and ice cream and _more_ pie and a bit _more_ ice cream were consumed, Sora climbed into bed, stretching out against the pillows. Riku looked down at the mass of pillows and blankets with a frown.

Sora reached across the bed and tugged on Riku’s arm. “Come on,” he said, with a slight grin. “After all that, I’m not letting you not sleep on the floor again.”

Riku gave a small laugh, and climbed into bed.

\--

The next morning, Roxas, once again, slammed open the door. “Good morning!” he exclaimed.

“Oh my god,” Sora said, burrowing into Riku’s chest. “Go away.”

Riku was going to just pretend like he was still asleep. Maybe Roxas would finally learn to take a hint.

Roxas let out a noise that sounded like teeth gritting, but he pressed onwards. “Nope. Even if it is only 4am,” both Riku and Sora groaned, “it’s Black Friday. Get _up_.”

“No,” Sora said, grabbing the covers and covering both him and Riku.

Roxas grumbled and moved to tug the covers off. “Come on! Tidus, Kairi, Selphie, _and_ Wakka all said they’re going! Besides, you promised!”

Riku groaned and made to get up. After the truce they had over pie, he wasn’t going to get between Roxas and Sora again. But before he could move, Sora’s hand held a death grip on his shirt. “He’s lying,” he hissed. “Don’t believe Roxas’s lies.”

Roxas grumbled again and stepped back. “Fine. You both suck.”

Before he left the room, Sora groaned resignedly and sleepily waved a hand towards the door. “We’ll catch up to you guys in a few hours, okay?”

Riku cracked opened an eye to see Roxas staring at the two of them, looking like he was biting the inside of his cheek to not say anything. “Fine,” he said finally. “If you miss all the good sales, it’ll be your fault!”

Roxas seemed to have made sure to slam the door as loudly as possible.

Sora huffed in contentment before snuggling back into Riku’s arms. Riku glanced down at him and as if Sora could see him, Sora shrugged. “It’s fucking cold in here. Roxas brought in a draft or something. Don’t you dare laugh.”

Riku rolled his eyes before leaning back against the pillows. “You sure you don’t want to go meet up with your friends?”

“Pfft,” Sora said. Riku could feel him grinning against his chest. “Black Friday is _so_ much better online. I’ll hit those deals in like an hour and we can catch the other sales at a time normal humans wake up.”

Riku snorted and closed his eyes. “I knew you were the smart one.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you’re reading this anytime around when it was originally posted, Happy New Year!


End file.
